Beware the unintended consequences of mine bill
I WOULD have thought it is an absolute no-brainer that South Africa would be “wanting to sell the country’s natural resources to the highest foreign bidder”, “New mine law may cost SA billions” (March 16).
Can it possibly be true that the two alternate options represent either rationality or intelligence above that of a piece of Arctic plankton: (1) South Africa wants to keep and use all its oil and gas for itself; or (2) Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu wants to sell the country’s natural resources to the lowest foreign bidder.
Yes, it is not uncommon for some countries to take free rides on the back of international oil companies, but those countries are usually members of the group in which the president and his assorted cronies acquire Croesus-like wealth without any apparent effort.
I wonder what the minister means when she contemptuously speaks of “white minority interests” attempting to resist change and transformation. Not only is she waffling, but her entire argument is risible.
Unfortunately, waffle and risible argument have a certain soporific appeal to the masses, and this ghastly bill will probably be passed.
But even if it does, there is always a much more applicable law that will result in tears. It’s called the law of unintended consequences.
By the way, all this talk about making coal a strategic mineral is pure madness. South Africa has more than 300 years’ supply of coal.
By declaring it “strategic” and subject to price and export controls, all that will happen is that it will stay in the ground and the country will be importing coal at enormous cost. — davidniven, on bdlive.co.za WELL done to the ANC for pushing hard for changes to the mining and petroleum law that will give the government the right to get a free stake of up to 20% in any new oil and gas projects, with a right to acquire an additional 80% at an “agreed price”.
The Democratic Alliance’s opposition to these changes shows that it is a party that is protecting white people’s interests, yet it wants black people to vote for it. — Sibusiso Sindane, Florida